Midnight Wreckage (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 4) Read online

  Chapter Six

  Ate the whole damn box…

  Queenie

  “So how was your little field trip?”

  I grabbed a piece of pizza and set it on the plate in front of me. “Fine.”

  Kimber laughed. “How long were you gone before Sledge showed up?”

  “Hour?” I picked off the gross black olives from the pizza and set them on Petra’s plate.

  When Sledge and I walked into my apartment, there was a gathering of the Kings of Vengeance in my living room and kitchen. Besides Kimber and Quinn, who had been there when Sledge discovered I was gone, Petra and Fancy were present with their guys. There were also two other guys hanging out by the front door. I had no idea what their names were, but they were both wearing cuts.

  My apartment felt tiny when just Gunner and I were here. Now, it was downright claustrophobic.

  “Hey,” Petra protested, “I don’t want those nasty things either.”

  I covered my plate with my hand. “No, givebacks.”

  Petra plopped them onto Kimber’s plate. “I didn’t freakin’ ask for them in the first place.”

  Fancy reached across the table and grabbed the black olives. “You can direct all of your future black olives to me. I’ll eat these scrummy little things.”

  “Scrummy?” Kimber scrunched up her nose. “More like scummy.”

  “What the hell are you four doing?” Quinn called. “Playing pass the fucking olives?”

  We all looked at each other. “Basically,” we called in unison.

  Sledge walked over and set a glass of water in front of me. “Time for your pain pill.” He opened his hand.

  I grabbed the pill and popped it in my mouth. He watched me take a drink and swallow it. I stuck my tongue out as proof I wasn’t hiding it in my cheek. “Down the hatch, stalker.”

  Sledge smirked and shook his head. “Just helping you stay ahead of the pain.”

  I shifted in my chair. He might have been a little too late with that pill. My shoulder was killing me and my back was throbbing. “Can I have two?”

  “Girl,” Fancy laughed, “you looking to dance on this table while eating your pizza?”

  “More like faceplant in your pizza,” Petra countered.

  I rolled my eyes and shoved a bite into my mouth.

  Sledge read the bottle of pills. “One is what you get. These things are fucking powerful and addictive.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Sledge.” I huffed and leaned back in my chair. I knew I could only have one. I was just being a smartass, but I guess that went over Sledge’s head. I knew all too well about pills and addiction. Duchess put me through hell trying to get her clean. It had taken five years in and out of rehab before it finally stuck. I got it. Or I thought I had.

  “They also seem to make you more of a smartass,” Sledge drawled.

  I flipped him off. “That just comes naturally.”

  Quinn walked over to the table and leaned against Kimber’s chair. “We gotta talk.”

  Well, that killed the tone of the room. Everyone sobered and I lost my appetite.

  Kimber tipped her head back and looked up at Quinn. “Is it badass biker talk time?”

  “I don’t think they call themselves badasses,” Fancy pointed out. She pulled a piece of sausage off her pizza and popped it into her mouth. “Makes them not badass if they say it.”

  Petra leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. “We can say it though.”

  “This is why you guys aren’t allowed in church.” Quinn pressed a finger to Kimber’s lips.

  Kimber’s eyes crossed when she looked down at his finger. “You have five seconds to move your finger before I bite it off.”

  Quinn dropped it. “Lay off the feisty flakes, babe.”

  “Feisty flakes,” Petra snorted. “That’s a new one.”

  Sledge grabbed the empty chair next to me, flipped it around, and straddled it. “You think we can get on with this?”

  Quinn’s eyes turned to me. “Gunner’s dad, Queenie. Do you have any idea who he is?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. Duchess never told me who it was. I don’t think she knew for sure.”

  Quinn frowned. “Cops pulled his birth certificate and there wasn’t one listed.”

  A sigh dropped from my lips. “I’m not surprised by that. I only saw Duchess with one boyfriend ever and that was when she was fifteen. Pretty sure he wasn’t the one who got her pregnant.”

  Fancy cleared her throat. “You don’t have to be dating or married to someone to get pregnant.” Fancy glanced at Dyno who rolled his eyes. “Not meaning to say anything bad about your sister or anything,” she added quickly.

  I waved my hand at Fancy. “I know what you mean. My sister was far from a saint. I’m not in the least offended by what you’re saying.” Duchess wasn’t a saint in any form of the word. She lived a hard life and had finally started straightening out when she found out she was pregnant. I was worried that the life she lived before Gunner had caught up with her somehow.

  “Did she have any friends? Someone who might have known who she was seeing?” Sledge asked.

  I glanced over at him. “I don’t know why we’re so focused on who Gunner’s dad is. Not once has anyone taken interest in Gunner besides Duchess and me. As I said, I don’t think Duchess knew who the father was.”

  Petra timidly raised her hand. “Maybe this was random.”

  Quinn shook his head. “You don’t randomly kill someone and steal their kid. Not the way that it happened with Queenie. Whoever did this wanted Queenie dead and Gunner alive.”

  A flat laugh rose from my chest. “Well, looks like they weren’t successful with that first one.”

  “Thank God for that.” Petra reached over and squeezed my hand.

  Kimber knocked her knuckles on the table. “This is probably not the right time to say this, but am I the only one who wants to ask if Queenie’s sister’s name is actually Duchess and not a nickname?” She looked around the table. “No? Just me?”

  “Never again,” Quinn mumbled.

  Fancy raised her hand. “I want to know too, but I was trying to be respectful.” She held her closed fist to Kimber. “That’s why you and I are friends.”

  Kimber bumped her fist against hers. “The best.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, those are our names. Our mom wanted us to be treated with respect. I guess in her mind, Queenie and Duchess were names that demanded respect.”

  In reality, it had just offered a reason for kids to make fun of us and guaranteed parents would look down their noses at us. A complete reverse of what our mom had wanted.

  Quinn ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t even know what the hell I was talking about anymore.”

  “Baby daddy,” one of the guys I didn’t know called.

  “Right,” Quinn muttered. “No one talk besides Queenie and me, got it?”

  Kimber and Fancy acted like they zipped up their lips and Petra held up her hands.

  “I don’t know who Gunner’s dad is,” I repeated.

  “Who were her friends? Who did she hang out with around the time that she got pregnant?” Quinn asked.

  “Uh, she talked about a girl named Lynn a couple of times.” I tipped my head to the side. “Though I think she was more of her counselor than a friend. Duchess was in and out of programs before she finally got clean.”

  “You know what programs she was in?”

  Boy did I. “Yeah. I was the one always footing the bill.” One reason I lived in this tiny hole of an apartment. I had been tapped dry by rehab stints for Duchess. I had bankrupted myself just to get her clean. One finally stuck and then, she was dead not even a year later.

  “Make a list of the ones she was in around the time she got pregnant. Maybe even before. If the more recent one doesn’t pan out, we’ll go back further.”

  “I can do that, but don’t you think the police should be the ones to look into this?” I asked.


  “If they ask you for a list like that, give it to them,” Quinn replied. “But if they don’t, then don’t worry about it.”

  Petra cringed and shifted in her chair. “Um, maybe we should let the police in on what we’re doing? You know, work with them.”

  She was as straight-laced as they came and it wasn’t surprising she wanted to go to the police. She wanted to keep them informed about what we were doing. Which is why I had been surprised when Rhino had become her shadow, following her to and from work. My law-abiding friend had snagged herself a rule-breaking biker.

  “We’re not breaking any laws; we’re just trying to find Gunner. The same thing that the police are doing,” Quinn pointed out. “If we find anything out that we would need the police for, I’ll be the first one to call them.”

  “Right,” Kimber drawled. “Who wants to take bets on when hell freezes over and Quinn calls the police for help?”

  “I will,” the other guy by the door called. “I’m into easy money.”

  “That the only easy thing you’re into, Zephyr?” Dyno chuckled.

  A knock sounded on the door. I thought everyone who was part of the Kings was here. Who would be knocking on my door close to ten o’clock at night?

  Zephyr opened the door and blocked my view of who knocked.

  “Tired of sitting on the street?” he drawled.

  Kimber cringed. “You made him sit on the street?” she asked.

  Quinn laid a hand on her shoulder. “Know your place,” he said softly. The words he spoke were hard, but his tone was tender.

  “Quinn,” she hissed, “he saved my life.”

  “And he also made a huge fuck up,” Dyno butted in.

  Who the hell were they talking about?

  Quinn stared at Kimber. “We talked about this, Kimber. Take your emotions out of it, you hear?”

  Kimber pursed her lips but nodded.

  “Let him in, Zephyr,” Quinn called.

  Zephyr stepped to the side and my jaw dropped.

  “One wrong word and I drop you right here,” Zephyr growled.

  Brent held up his hands.

  “Over here, Core,” Quinn called.

  “Core?” I asked, shocked. “His name is Brent.” Brent had started working with Petra and me right before I had been shot. What in the hell was he doing here?

  Core/Brent made his way into my apartment and stopped a few feet from the table.

  “Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” I demanded.

  “Someone give Queenie the cliff notes,” Quinn sighed.

  Dyno held up his hand. “I got this.” He moved over to Brent and rested his hand on his shoulder. “This is Core. Core is a fuck up. He keeps trying to do the right thing. At least the thing that seems right to him, and continuously just fucks everything. His latest fuck up—which I hope is the last fucking straw—was agreeing to take the job of killing you and kidnapping Gunner.”

  I sat back, stunned. In a million years, I couldn’t have prepared myself for Dyno’s words.

  “But,” Dyno drawled, “Core decided at the very last fucking minute to not do it.”

  “So, Brent knows who has Gunner?” There were so many questions I could have asked, but that was the most important one.

  Core shook his head. “Core,” he corrected, “and no. I was hired by someone else who was also hired. I didn’t get any details of where to take Gunner before I told them I wasn’t going to do it.” He rubbed his hand over his chest. “I was on the way over to warn you, but I was too late.” His eyes connected with Quinn’s.

  There was more to the story, but he didn’t continue.

  Dyno started up again. “Core is here because while he doesn’t know who wants you dead, we know who hired him so he’s been trying to see if we can find anything out from them.” Dyno pointed his finger at Petra. “And no, we are not going to tell the police about this. Pretty sure we’ll all be in fucking trouble if we do that.”

  Petra held up her hands. “Hey, I’m just…well, I think I have the conscience of the group, okay?”

  Kimber laughed. “That is the damn truth.”

  “C get in touch with you at all?” Quinn asked him

  Core shook his head. “No, he’s been giving me the run around. But I did tell him I would check in with him periodically to see if there were any jobs. If I press him too hard he’ll probably shut me out completely and I’ll be the next one dead.”

  Quinn smiled. “Well, you’re periodically checking in with him tomorrow. Act like you don’t know shit and get on his good side. Get a fucking job from him.”

  “What happens if he finds out I’m part of the Kings?” Core asked.

  Quinn tipped his head to the side. “Are you?”

  “I walked off, but that’s only because everyone didn’t like me,” Core whined. “I just needed some time to get my head straight.”

  “Do what I fucking asked you to do and then, we’ll see about the rest.” Quinn ran his fingers through his hair. “Don’t fuck up. Finding Gunner is our main priority, but we also have shit on the back burner we can’t leave for long. You have a record of fucking up when it’s the worst time.”

  I didn’t understand what was going on. Even though Dyno had given me the cliff notes, I felt there were pretty big chunks of the story missing. What I did pick up on was that no one was really happy to see Core, but he made himself a pretty intricate part of what was happening with Gunner and me.

  “What if Point goes with him? Have him keep an eye on Core and also see if he can get any info on who has Gunner. You gotta think with two of them working it, it will happen quicker,” Rhino suggested.

  “I don’t need a fucking babysitter,” Core insisted.

  Quinn squinted at Point and nodded. “Point goes with you. Tell C he is your new business partner and see what work he has for you two.” Quinn nodded to Dyno. “I want you to be their point of contact, but you also need to find a place to set up Skinz.”

  “For fuck’s sake,” Point, the other one I didn’t know, grumbled. “How in the hell did I get roped into being Core’s fucking buddy? Dyno can go with him and I’ll look for fucking strip joints to buy.”

  “God knows you’ve been in enough strip clubs to know what to look for, but that’s not a fucking option. You want to be with Core or go talk to some counselor?” Quinn asked. “You and Zephyr can fight it out between the two of you of who goes where.”

  “Bullshit,” Zephyr shouted, “both of those options are fucking shit.”

  Point sighed, defeated. “I’ll take Core.”

  Zephyr threw his hands in the air. “What? I didn’t even get a chance to pick.”

  “That’s it. Queenie, make a list of your sister’s shrinks and any friends she had. Also, any other shit you think might help.” Quinn nodded to Zephyr and Point. “Dumb and dumber will handle Core and the shrinks.”

  “And what the hell are you all going to be doing?” Zephyr demanded.

  “Idiot,” Sledge mumbled.

  “You think I answer to you, Zephyr?” Quinn pointed at the patch on his chest that said president. “Is this your patch and I’m just wearing it for the fuck of it? Did you make a deal with the Royal Bastards and now owe them a fuck-ton of money? You aren’t always going to have easy and fun shit to do here. Dyno is looking at fucking buildings, not fucking strippers, you fuckwit. So, do you want to wear this patch since you seem to think I’m not making the right decisions?”

  I watched Zephyr’s Adam's apple bob as he swallowed hard. “No.”

  “No?” Quinn growled.

  “No, sir,” Zephyr choked out.

  “Once Queenie has the list, I’ll get it to you. Now, get the fuck out of here,” Quinn thundered.

  Both Zephyr and Point took off with Core following behind them.

  “Quinn,” Kimber whispered.

  Oh, boy. That was not the right thing to do.

  “Bike, now,” Quinn growled.

  “Quinn, I don’t—”
>
  “Get your ass on the bike right now or not, Kimber. Those are your fucking options.”

  Quinn was pissed. Zephyr and Point arguing about what they wanted to do had sent Quinn over the deep end and it didn’t seem that Kimber was comprehending it.

  She hesitated but grabbed her purse off the floor. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  Quinn held open the door and she bustled out without a backward glance. Quinn slammed the door shut behind him and everyone let out a relieved breath.

  Fancy dropped her hand on the table. “She ate a bowl of feisty flakes this morning.”

  “Ate the whole damn box,” I blurted out.

  Petra snorted. “Truth.”

  With the swift departure of Quinn and Kimber killing the mood, everyone helped clean up and then it was just Sledge and me in my tiny apartment.

  “We gonna argue about me staying here or can we just go to sleep?”

  I trailed my fingers through my hair. “I need to shower, and I barely have enough energy to do that, let alone argue with you. The couch is all yours.”

  “You need help?” Sledge asked.

  “I have more holes in me than a piece of swiss cheese, Sledge. You gawking at me in the shower doesn’t sound appealing.”

  Sledge grunted. “Not what I fucking meant. You’re going to need to take your bandages off and put new ones on.”

  Ugh. He was right. The thought of skipping the shower crossed my mind, but the hot water sounded too good to pass up. “Fine. Give me five minutes and knock before you come in, yeah?”

  He held up one hand. “No funny stuff, sugar. Swear.”

  I rolled my eyes and flipped off the kitchen lights. “I don’t think that’s as reassuring as you think it is. Five minutes.” I headed to my room and grabbed my pajamas.

  Letting Sledge into the bathroom with me might not be the best idea, but I didn’t have any other choice.

  Until I was fully back on my feet, Sledge was going to be around whether I liked it or not.

  Just great.

  *

  Sledge

  I piled the pillows on one end of the couch and flipped on the TV. Five minutes was a long fucking time when you were just waiting for it to pass by.